


"Surprises are foolish things"

by thoughtsthatfester



Series: Friends With Benefits [2]
Category: Emma Approved
Genre: F/M, Friends With Benefits, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-10
Updated: 2013-12-10
Packaged: 2018-01-04 06:36:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1077757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thoughtsthatfester/pseuds/thoughtsthatfester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex and Emma have been friends with benefits for years and they've never had so much as a scare. But then, Emma gets pregnant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"Surprises are foolish things"

“Alex, we need to talk,” she said entering the room. Her hair was pulled back and her face was makeup-free. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen her like this; she was always so put together. 

“No camera, I see. Not recording this for the documentary?” He said, putting his paperwork to the side.

“No, I don’t want this on tape,” she said as she rubbed the back of her neck. She moved across the room and sat beside him at his desk. Up close, he could see the bags under her eyes. He wondered how he hadn’t noticed it before. She looked like she was going to fall apart at any moment.

“Oh,” he said, his voice soft, “it’s serious then. What’s the matter?”

She took a deep breath and looked at him with glassy eyes. “Alex, I’m pregnant.”

“Excuse me?” His face was suddenly very hot. Surely this couldn’t be true. They had been careful; he was always careful. 

“I,” she began, her voice shaking, “I was late and ignored it at first because we’ve been really careful or I thought we were being really careful, but then I started feeling sick. I just, what are we going to do?”

“Emma-“ he began. He wasn’t sure how to continue, wasn’t sure what to say. The two of them had been having casual sex for years and they’d never had so much as a scare. “Emma, everything is going to be fine.”

“How can you say that? We can’t have a baby. We’re not together. We’re not married; we’re not even dating. My father is going to have a heart attack.” The tears she had been holding back began to fall. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen.”

“Then,” he said rubbing her back slowly to comfort her, “we get married.”

“Don’t make this a joke, Alex,” she looked up at him through the tears. 

“I’m being serious. It’s not a terrible idea. You’re my best friend. We have great sex. It will keep your father from having a heart attack, hopefully.”

“You’re serious?” The tears stopped falling. “You would be willing to do that?”

“Yes. It’s not the worst idea I’ve ever had. I know it’s not your dream and you said you’d never settle, but it would solve our problem. We’re with each other most of the time anyway; it wouldn’t be a huge change if we lived together. And, it would be for the best.” Half the people they met already assumed they were together. The idea wasn’t completely ridiculous. Sure, it wasn’t what she expected or what she deserved, but it would solve their problem. They would always be best friends and that wasn’t the worst environment to raise a child. People who were madly in love when they got married got divorced; marrying your best friend wasn’t a terrible idea. 

“Is this you proposing?” She wiped the tears from her cheeks. 

“Is that what you want?” This wasn’t the dream Emma had always had for her life. She had been planning weddings for nearly as long as she could talk; she liked things to be perfect. 

“No, not like this. Not when I’ve been crying. Not in your office.” A small smile appeared on her face. 

“Okay.” He would give her what she deserved. It wasn’t fair to her; she didn’t love him. Emma deserved to be madly in love with her husband, but this was the only solution that made sense to both of them. He would try his very best to make her happy, starting with the proposal and ring. He was certain she’d blogged about this before. He would go back and read everything and try his very best to make her happy. 

“Okay?”

“You deserve a real proposal and a real ring, something romantic. I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry about anything.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, Emma. This isn’t anyone’s fault.”

“No, but now we’re stuck, you’re stuck.”

“Emma, I’m not forcing you into a marriage you don’t want to be a part of. It’s not 1800. We can have a baby and not be married. I don’t need to get married if that’s not what you want.”

“No! It’s what I want. It’s for the best, really. It’s just – I mean I specialize in lifestyle excellence and I can’t even have my own life together. It’s just funny. It’s not how I expected things to work out, but you’re my best friend and we’re going to make things work.”

“We always do. We’re in this together,” he said. 

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, just taking in all that had happened.

“Emma,” he broke the silence, “how far along are you?”

“I’m not sure yet. I made an appointment for Thursday. Do you want to come?”

“Of course. That’s not even a question. Like I said Emma, we’re in this together. We’re partners.”


End file.
